Abstract
Being bullied can be an important contributing factor for the development of mental health problems in childhood and adolescence, and it is becoming clear that there are additional longer-term negative outcomes. Anti-bullying programs show promise in tackling bullying behaviors. However, the chances of eradicating bullying completely are minimal, and we need to acknowledge that despite such programs, a considerable proportion of young people will not escape this form of abuse in their youth. This leaves some children and adolescents vulnerable to the harm associated with being bullied in childhood and adolescence. One idea to minimize the harmful consequences associated with being bullied is to increase the focus of interventions on victims and potential victims, in parallel with existing programs to stop bullying. Intervention efforts should focus on limiting distress among young victims and possibly by the same token, preventing long-lasting difficulties in later life. A new innovative strategy could aim at preventing children from becoming the targets of bullying in the first place. Such a public health approach might be a more effective way to reduce the bullying-related burden and considerable costs for society. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms explaining the emergence and persistence of these poor outcomes. In the meantime, efforts focusing on stopping bullying behaviors should not only be supported but also be widened to provide appropriate help to the young victims and prevent children and adolescents from becoming the target of bullying.
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Arseneault, L. (2020). Burden and Cost Associated with Childhood Bullying Victimization. In: Taylor, E., Verhulst, F., Wong, J., Yoshida, K. (eds) Mental Health and Illness of Children and Adolescents. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2348-4_22
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